Project information

Transforming girls' learning & lives in Ethiopia

Quality secondary education equips girls with the confidence and skills to escape the poverty cycle. This is the next crucial phase of a project to transform access to secondary school in desperately poor districts of Ethiopia and support 44,000 girls to gain literacy, numeracy and lifeskills.

Charity information: Link Community Development International

Need

Poor quality education perpetuates poverty, population growth, disease and climate change, yet millions of children in rural Africa cannot access quality schooling. Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world; despite leaps forward in access to primary education, just 11% of children from rural areas go to secondary school. Girls and children with disabilities struggle most; fuelled by discrimination, domestic burdens, early marriage, childbearing and a lack of classroom support.

Solution

Our project will work with communities, schools and government to address obstacles girls face to learning and transitioning to secondary school. We'll develop high-quality new secondary schools in deep rural areas of need and support girls through each stage of learning to develop literacy and numeracy, self-esteem, financial literacy and lifeskills. Activities will be sustainable, building local capacity for better teaching, direct support of girls and community buy-in for girls' education.

Aim 1

Directly support 44,000 girls to become 'ready to learn' in primary and secondary schools

Activities

» Support high-quality literacy, numeracy, financial literacy, guidance, counselling and social and emotional learning programmes in schools. » Provide one year of essential supplies to girls in primary schools to aid transition to secondary, e.g. bursaries, books, underwear and sanitarywear » Intensive training and mentoring for teachers in gender-friendly teaching, core subjects, classroom management and language competency » Help school set up and sustain Girls’ Education Advisory Committees and Girls' Clubs, where girls learn more about HIV/AIDS, violence & sexual health

What success will look like

Significant improvement in girls' foundational and higher-order literacy, numeracy, core subject knowledge; transition to the next stage of their education; lower drop-out.

Aim 2

Increase access to secondary education in Wolaita

Activities

» Construct three further low-cost secondary schools in deep rural areas of need in Wolaita, following construction of first school in 2018

What success will look like

Three new secondary schools in areas of need within Wolaita Zone, complete with separate sanitation for girls.

Aim 3

Raise broad community awareness across Wolaita of the value of quality education for girls.

Activities

» Encourage support of girls through Mothers’ Groups, Fathers’ Groups, Gender Clubs and ‘Good Brother’ awards to champion boys who support girls » Support schools to deliver School Performance Review through the year, wherein communities and parents monitor performance and guide improvements » Local radio, billboard and TV coverage to promote girls’ rights and challenged entrenched attitudes and norms

What success will look like

145 communities participate with school improvement processes and unite with schools to tackle issues such as domestic roles, learning inequalities and HIV/AIDS.

Aim 4

Improve leadership and build capacity for girls' learning with schools and government

Activities

» Training for school leaders in sustainable leadership strategies to improve girls' education » Train schools and district staff in gender equality, gender action planning and prevention of violence in schools » Specialist training for school staff working with girls in self-esteem, growth and changes, to support their critical transition years

What success will look like

Support for girls' learning is embedded in local education systems, with capacity increased by 60% and sustained after project closure.

Aim 5

Sustainably motivate and upskill teachers in all project primary and secondary schools

What success will look like

Impact

This project will directly benefit 44,000 marginalised girls, and indirectly benefit 230,000 more children in 145 improved schools. Girls will transition to secondary school and gain a quality education; schools will flourish from effective teaching, leadership and gender equality; and communities and authorities will become experienced in school improvement. We’ll measure change at four stages, using reading/maths assessments and a sustainability tool, and compare against a control group.

Risk

Political unrest: Wolaita Zone in SNNPRS is not currently affected by recent political unrest in Oromia and Amhara but travel to and from the project site and Hawassa/Addis Ababa via the road networks could be affected if further unrest occurs; Drought - Wolaita was not hugely affected by Ethiopia's last drought but the situation could worsen based on climatic conditions; Construction delays - we will use a committee of experts and thorough due diligence to minimise issues.

Reporting

We will share an annual report on our project progress with all major donors, and we can also send donors quarterly newsletter updates on our wider work across Africa, upon request.

Location

Our project will be based in Wolaita Zone in the Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS) in Ethiopia, 330km southwest of Addis Ababa. This is an area of severe poverty, battling high rates of HIV/AIDS, a dense and growing population, vast rural areas with poor roads and alarmingly low access to quality education.

Beneficiaries

44,000 marginalised girls living in poverty will directly benefit, as well as 230,688 children indirectly, who will attend 145 improved schools. Girls will receive better, more equitable learning support, guidance, counselling, lifeskills and sanitation in school, and attend to completion, gaining literacy, numeracy, self-esteem and the skills to make their own choices in life. More girls will marry later and develop livelihoods, reducing population growth and supporting the economy.

Why Us?

Since 1995 we have worked in 3,000 schools and improved the lives of 2 million children. This project follows a successful four-year girls’ primary education project in Wolaita, where we addressed challenges facing girls in primary school. It improved girls’ literacy by 200%, numeracy by 300% and retention by 30%. This impact was achieved at low cost, just £15 per girl per year, through a community-led model. We are a lean organisation and 98p of every £1 raised funds work in Africa.

People

Dr Samantha Ross

Samantha will provide crucial support with programme implementation, strategy and reporting.

Sandra Graham

Sandra leads project delivery in Ethiopia, and supports our local team on the ground in Wolaita.

Teferi Womber

Teferi is managing the delivery of key education interventions on the ground in Wolaita Zone

"I have realised that our girls can be big leaders of the country and for this they need to be well educated."

The parent of a junior school girl in Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia

"Link's holistic approach supports sustainability and improves social accountability. Link, which has one of the most successful projects in terms of improving outcomes for girls, simultaneously decreased gender disparity, developed girls' interest in science and boosted attendance."

Department for International Development (DFID), Girls' Education Challenge Fund